Dates

October 24 - November 14, 2020

Four live online sessions:

    Saturday October 24, 11 am - 12 noon ET

    Saturday October 31, 11 am - 12 noon ET

    Saturday November 7, 11 am - 12 noon ET

    Saturday November 14, 11 am - 12 noon ET

Independent individual and group work occur between live sessions.

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Outcomes

• Gain critical knowledge of best practices in outdoor program risk management

• Learn procedures, systems and plans essential to meeting key outdoor safety standards

• Understand how to apply successful risk management strategies to adventure programs, experiential education, wilderness expeditions, and outdoor trips

 

Valuable for

Program Coordinators/Managers, Risk Management officers, Risk Management/Safety Committee members, members of Boards of Directors, executive leadership. Leaders of outdoor, wilderness, travel, experiential and adventure programs.

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Course Format

The course is composed of four live video-conference sessions and three independent work periods:

 

1. Live sessions. Four live, video-conference sessions, one hour long, occurring 11 am – noon Eastern Time on consecutive Saturdays.  This include structured real-time small-group and large-group discussions and participant project presentations. These take place starting Saturday October 24, ending November 14, 2020:

            Saturday October 24, 11 am - 12 noon Eastern Daylight Saving Time (UTC-4)

            Saturday October 31, 11 am - 12 noon Eastern Daylight Saving Time (UTC-4)

            Saturday November 7, 11 am - 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)

            Saturday November 14, 11 am - 12 noon Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)

 

2. Independent work. Between live video-conferences, three independent work periods for individual and remote small-group activity. This work includes:

• Review of pre-recorded slide presentations with presenter video

• Completion of readings

• Participation in online discussion forums

• Participation in interactive video-based decision-making activities

• Completion of writing assignments (including writing risk management plan and strategic improvement plan content)

• Peer review of select classmate writing content

• Completion of organizational self-assessment

• Completion of online worksheets

• Participation in online risk decision-making role-playing scenario

• Structured analysis of case-study examples

• Completion of quizzes and final exam

 

These occur the weeks of October 25-31, November 1-7, and November 8-14, 2020.

Independent work is anticipated to take a minimum of 7-12 hours per week.

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Trainer/Facilitator

Jeff Baierlein, Director, Viristar Risk Management; past Executive Director at Outward Bound USA. 

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Language

English

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Cost

USD $259. Course fee includes four live sessions, materials for independent work sessions, an electronic copy of the course textbook Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure, and certification.

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Syllabus

Live Session 1

Welcome, Orientation, Introductory Concepts in Risk Management

 

Independent Work 1

General Concepts in Risk Management

• Approaches to Risk Management

• Standards

• Laws

 

Risk Domains

• Organizational Culture

• Activities and Program Areas

• Staff

• Equipment

• Participants

• Subcontractors

• Transportation

• Business Administration       

 

Live Session 2

Facilitated Discussion

Participant Presentations: Self-Evaluation of Risk Management in Risk Management Domains

 

Independent Work 2

Risk Management Instruments

• Risk Transfer

• Incident Management

• Incident Reporting

• Incident Reviews

• Risk Management Committee

• Medical Screening

• Risk Management Reviews

• Media Relations

• Documentation

• Accreditation

• Systems Thinking

 

Special Topic: COVID-19 Management

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Live Session 3

Facilitated Discussion

Participant Presentations: Self-Evaluation of Risk Management with Risk Management Instruments

 

Independent Work 3

Synthesis & Application

Risk Management Plan Development

Strategic Improvement Plan for Your Organization

Final Exam

 

Live Session 4

Facilitated Discussion

Participant Presentation: Strategic Improvement Plan for Your Organization

Conclusion & Certificates

 

Textbook

The course textbook is Risk Management for Outdoor Programs: A Guide to Safety in Outdoor Education, Recreation and Adventure (viristar.com/book). This 208-page text is provided to each student in electronic format.

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Certification

Participants take short quizzes throughout the course and a final written exam. Individuals who fully participate in learning activities and successfully complete the final exam receive a certificate from Viristar valid for three years.

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Previous Participants Say:

• “Viristar delivered a high quality training and I would recommend it to any outdoor program.”  Si Dilks, ChinaClimb

• “Extremely useful, important and informative course…very enjoyable and worthwhile.” Kelvin Fawcett, Nord Anglia International School

• “Great insight into risk management—took a lot away to implement back at my workplace. Very well run.  Great course!” Liam Warren, Harrow International School

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Registration

Enroll at https://aore.org/pre-conference_workshops.php. The course is being offered as a “pre-conference” workshop at the annual conference of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, although anyone may enroll (and need not attend any other conference-related activities). Follow directions under “How to Register for Pre/Post Conference Workshops” to register for the AORE annual conference and select this training event from the menu.